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Friday, July 1, 2016

New Polar Fleece Jacket - Vogue 9133.

Winter has finally arrived in our part of the world with some quite icy mornings and some very chilly winds.

Now, while I have smart coats, they are more appropriate for more formal wear, or for city use. Newcastle is a regional town, and tends to dress fairly casually. My life is also fairly casual at the moment and in any case, it is impossible to fight the elements here - including the many spider webs that appear at night and end up all over your clothes.

So I decided to make a coat that fitted the current conditions.

I rummaged through the stash and found this polar fleece. For some reason I did not like it in the stash, and wanted it out. It was ideal for a coat/jacket though, because it is a thicker and firmer fleece.

Then I went through my patterns. Despite having quite a few (well, lots) I could not find one that I wanted to make.

So I went to Spotlight, and looked though the Vogue patterns, which were being sold at $7.00 instead of the usual approximately $29.00. I looked for a simple pattern that would work with the fleece, and was just about to give up when I saw this:

This coat/jacket has very simple lines and is unlined - perfect for fleece. Unfortunately, I
can't put the line drawing in, as Blogger now doesn't like the coding when I cut and paste from Sewing Pattern Review.

I decided against making a muslin for this garment - it was a case of low enthusiasm couple with need for a casual coat.

I chose View C.

I always find Vogue patterns are huge on my shoulders, so cut out XS (4-6) for shoulders and arms, and S for the body (8-10). I figured that with the small amount of stretch in this fleece I could get away with not so much ease. I did find though that the underarm was a little higher than I am used to, and while fitting nicely, I would drop that down to the S size if I made this again - especially if I used a woven. I took out 1/2 inch along the L.S lines above the shoulder dart, and 1/2 inch below. The sleeves turned out almost a bit too short, so if I make this again, I will only the above the dart shortening. Strange, because most sleeves seem to reach almost to my fingertips.

The coat jacket was designed to have shoulder pads. I did not have enough room for those, plus I have square shoulders, so don't always need them.

I did find that the facing wanted to flap out, so I tacked that along the pockets.

And, I used a snap instead of a buttonhole - I usually close polar fleece with a snap.

And a note to self - if I ever make this in a woven, I may need to go up a size - make a muslin first.

*****

Just an aside - I will not be posting reviews on Pattern Review anymore - for some reason, the site will not accept my pictures now - I have spent ages trying to work out what to do and still can't upload. Reviews without pictures are not looked at - a waste of time and energy. I guess I could email them, but really, I find blogging is more to my liking, and I really like communicating with my regular followers and friends. I just don't have that sort of connection with Pattern Review. So I will review on my blog - and as I always include the pattern number, anyone searching for info on the web will be able to find my reviews on my blog.

*****

Now, I have already told you that I did not really like this piece of stash. It must have been listening, because it took it's revenge and punished me by prtesenting a hole in the back piece of the garment aftern is had been cut out.

Of course, I had the usual emotional reaction, and after that put my thinking cap on. The hole was in the upper third of the back about a third of the way in. I decided that I could put a little tab band across the back. I measured and marked my positions:

Then made a band. Well, two actually, because after stitching the first, it had pulled in so much that the hole was not going to be covered:

Then I stitched down, and then added buttons:

And strategically covered that pesky little hole on the inside with little daisies - these also hid the stitching from the buttons:

I added a second row of topstitching to the pockets:

Instead of using polar fleece for the back neck facing I used a light weight knit - that is finished with lace at the bottom so it looks neat. It's just visible in the picture. I also did a chunky topstitching along the collar and front edges:

Side seams were done in a false flat fell finish, and the hem was just overlocked and turned up:

I do find my small domestic overlocker struggles with thick fabrics, and skips stitches and does not do a nice, neat job. So I bound the armholes with stretch lace - my ancient heavy duty machine doesn't mind doing this at all:

And the front button just covers a large snap closure. I forgot to take a picture of that!

Now a few pictures of the garment - and I'm being very authentically casual in these photos, even down to the wind swept hair! I'm sure quite a few of you will relate to ordinary clothes worn in a very ordinary way, instead of glamour shots of a garment made up - many of us have, after all, far from glamourous lives!

Well, that is it for Vogue 9133. It's a simple, easy to make jacket/coat that looks nice, even in Polar Fleece casualness!

For those of you following the building saga, the drains are done now down the side of the house. The roof is due to start next week - the roofers are putting the scaffolding up right now. I will be so pleased to see the new roof go on - and hopefully are house will start feeling a little dryer and warmer.

I love your creative treatment of what could have been a disaster. Now it is a design feature. I do like that Vogue pattern,too and might have to keep it in mind next time it is on special. Great looking coat, Sarah Liz.

You will enjoy this one great looking coat so much!! Polar fleece is so comfy I can only imagine how cozy your coat must be. And I like how your solution to the fabric's problem turned into a delightful design feature! Nice top-stitching and finishing details too. I don't know that much about PR but really enjoy your reviews and info your share on your blog. Super glad things are moving forward for you on the homefront. :)

What a great coat. I agree some of us have less need for the super smart clothes (although now I am working I need some of them too) but this looks super smart and practical. It's the sort of pattern that lets the fabric speak. I have recently done a similar save due to some holes in my niece's pineapple kimono. I however, didn't have those gorgeous daisies to hide the error. How do you do that?

Thank you. I am trying to get a mix of clothes that are smart and practical, because I don't like sloppy casual. The daisies are just little guipure daisies - you buy them at SL by the metre. I just hand stitch them over the problem. Voila, out of sight!

I recognize that pattern. I think I had something similar until it fell apart from use. It is a lovely quick make. Your's turned out lovely! Nice work hiding the holes and attaching the pockets and the seams. Sorry to hear about your trouble with pattern review. I'm not that adept at adding makes to PR but I do love looking up a specific pattern. I got stressed out with one of their contests, not with the sewing, but with loading the photos!

It's hard to imagine that you get cold, icy winters in Australia! You have made the perfect jacket for those conditions and you have some colourful new scarfs to go with it!Pleased to hear you are making progress with your building works (which is more than we are... one problem unearthing another!) x

Hi Dawn - yes, imagination would suggest we have nothing but blue skies and sunny days, but this is a big land mass with all sorts of climates. The Australian alps are not far from where I live, so I think the cold air might be coming from them. Sorry to hear about the building problems - it's always that way though with most building.

That looks like a fabulously warm coat. Very nicely done. Looks like a great fit. Pattern Review has a limit on how many photos you can upload. I guess it can't be unlimited. If you log into your account and have a look at your photo album it will tell you how many more photos you can upload. You can then either delete some of the pictures or re-size them to smaller size. PR is a great source for seeing how a pattern looks on people so it would be sad to see you drop out.

About Me

Hello, I'm Sarah Liz, and I am attempting to make my own Sew Style wardrobe. It's taking more time than I thought, but one day I will have a Sew Style wardrobe that is just right. And I blog for pleasure and not for profit. Content of sarahlizsewstyle.blogspot.com is copyright, 2013-2017, All Rights Reserved.